Excerpt from:

PHOEBE POPE AND THE YEAR OF FOUR

A SHAPERS NOVEL

Copyright 2012 by NYA JADE and published here with her permission.

One

Phoebe was too far away to sense whether the boy had one heart or two. Through the maze of trees with clattering leaves, she could see him moving with purposeful speed. He was headed toward her destinationa brownstone chapel perched at the top of a small hill. Not knowing the boys nature made Phoebe hesitate. Then came the sound of tower bells. Eight oclock. There was no time to think of an alternate route. She was officially late for the Conversion. A loud, echoing crack quickened Phoebes pace as lightning slashed the indigo sky above her. She had barely reached the base of the hill when rain began pounding down. Clutching the camera that hung from the strap around her neck, she sprinted the final stretch, arriving breathless. Phoebe wiped the rain from her face, and then entered the chapel. Inside, light from moonfacing windows cast a misty glow across the sanctuary, the air redolent with the smoke of a blazing fireplace. She glanced around the heart of the nondenominational Green Lane Academy. It seemed so ordinary, so quiet, even peaceful. Rows of pews with velvet cushions ran the width of the room. She moved between them, taking care to remain in the shadows. An irregular shape in a dark corner caught her eye and Phoebe could just barely make out the outline of the boy. He knelt with his head between his hands, his body huddled against a pew. Praying. Phoebe paused several feet away and waited. After a moment she felt energy seeping from the boys skin, raising the hairs on hers. Cold and electric, it meant one thing: the boy had only one heart. She couldnt risk him seeing what she had come there to do. That meant waiting. Just then, something stirred behind her.